Guide · Akihabara

Part of: Anime Places to Visit in Tokyo: 9 Real Spots

Ghibli Museum, Mitaka: How to Get There from Central Tokyo, What Is Inside, and What to Know Before You Go

The Ghibli Museum is in Inokashira Park, Mitaka, western Tokyo: take the JR Chūō line to Mitaka Station, about 20 minutes from Shinjuku, then walk fifteen minutes from the south exit or take the community bus. Entry is by advance, dated ticket only, from ¥1,000 for adults. Inside are the Cat Bus room (for children 12 and under), the Robot Soldier on the roof and a short film you can only see there. I run private anime tours in Akihabara most weeks, and the Ghibli Museum is the one Tokyo anime visit I tell guests to plan first.

The museum describes itself with a list of wishes rather than rules, and one of them sets the tone: visitors are not controlled with predetermined courses and fixed directions. You wander. That is the experience, and it is why the practical details below matter.

How do you get to the Ghibli Museum?

By train to JR Mitaka Station on the Chūō line, which the museum says takes about 20 minutes from Shinjuku. From Mitaka's south exit it is a 15-minute walk, or a community bus that runs to the museum every 15 minutes during opening hours. The address is 1-1-83 Shimorenjaku, Mitaka.

From Akihabara, the JR Chūō–Sōbu line runs west through Shinjuku towards Mitaka, so you can stay on JR the whole way; my Akihabara anime tour guests often do Ghibli on one day and Akihabara on another. The bus fares, from the museum's own page:

In rain, or with small children, take the bus.

How do Ghibli Museum tickets work?

Advance reservation only, for a specific date and entry time, with no fixed exit time. No tickets are sold at the museum. Overseas visitors buy through Lawson Ticket's online sales, which open at 10:00 Japan time on the 10th of each month for the following month, or through a Sunrise Tours JTB bus tour that includes the museum.

The museum also states that buying tickets for resale is not allowed. The full booking timeline, and how the Ghibli Museum fits with everything else that sells out in Tokyo, is in what to book before your Tokyo trip.

What is inside the Ghibli Museum?

A small, hand-made building full of things to discover: a fresco ceiling in the entrance hall, stained-glass windows of Ghibli characters, the Cat Bus room, a spiral stair to a rooftop garden with a five-metre Robot Soldier from Castle in the Sky, the Saturn Theater, a reading room, the Straw Hat Café and the shop.

Which short film is showing?

The Whale Hunt (16 minutes), from 1 October to 3 November 2026, then Treasure Hunting (9 minutes), from 19 November to 26 December 2026; both dates are marked tentative. You can enter the Saturn Theater once per visit. The special exhibition, on the artist Yuriko Yamawaki's studio, began in November 2025.

The museum's original short films rotate through about ten titles, such as Mei and the Baby Cat Bus, which is a reason Ghibli fans come back.

When is the Ghibli Museum closed?

Check the calendar on the official tickets page before you book; the closed days are marked there. On 4 October 2026 the calendar showed the museum closed on most Tuesdays and for a longer period from 4 to 18 November 2026, between the two film screenings. Tickets for closed days are, of course, not sold.

This is the honest section. The Ghibli Museum is small, the tickets are hard to get, and the area around it is a residential park rather than an anime district. People who expect a theme park are sometimes surprised by how quiet and gentle it is. People who expect what the museum says it is, a place to wander and discover, usually love it. If you could not get tickets, nothing at Tokyo Character Street or in Akihabara replaces it, but Donguri Republic, the Ghibli goods chain, has a shop on Tokyo Character Street at Tokyo Station.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get to the Ghibli Museum from Shinjuku? About 20 minutes on the JR Chūō line to Mitaka, according to the museum, then 15 minutes on foot or a short community-bus ride.

Can I buy Ghibli Museum tickets at the door? No. The museum says no reservation or ticket purchase can be made at the museum. Tickets are sold in advance only.

How much are Ghibli Museum tickets? ¥1,000 for 19 and over, ¥700 for 13 to 18, ¥400 for 7 to 12, ¥100 for 4 to 6, and free for 3 and under.

Can adults ride the Cat Bus? No. The Cat Bus is for elementary-school children and under, aged 12 and under.

How long do people spend at the Ghibli Museum? Tickets set an entry time but no exit time, so you can stay as long as the museum is open. Most of the building rewards slow wandering.

Ghibli in Mitaka, everything else in Akihabara

If Ghibli is one day of your trip and you want another day built around the rest of what you watch, Adventure in Akihabara with Anime is my private half-day walk, three to four hours, never shared with other guests. The price is on the tour page.

About the author. I am Yuuki, a Japanese teacher and Akihabara anime tour guide based in Tokyo. I run private anime tours here most weeks, rated 4.96★ on Airbnb across 171 reviews. I have watched over 1,500 anime series, which is either a qualification or a warning depending on your point of view.

See the Akihabara anime tour →

Sources: Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Hours and Directions (1-1-83 Shimorenjaku, Mitaka; about 20 minutes from Shinjuku to Mitaka on the Chūō line; 15-minute walk from the south exit; community bus every 15 minutes and fares), Tickets (advance reservation only; no sales at the museum; prices by age; no resale; Lawson Ticket from 10:00 JST on the 10th for the next month; Sunrise Tours JTB; calendar with closed days), Welcome (film-strip tickets, Cat Bus for 12 and under, Robot Soldier, TRI HAWKS, Straw Hat Café, MAMMA AIUTO!), This Kind of Museum (no predetermined courses), Films (Saturn Theater about 80 seats, one screening per visit, current and upcoming films) and the top page (current exhibition); Donguri Republic, official site (Studio Ghibli goods); Tokyo Station Ichibangai, Tokyo Character Street (Donguri Republic shop). All checked 4 October 2026. Opening hours are deliberately not given.